Lone Survivor (DVD REVIEW)
Lone
Survivor
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Oscar-Nominated Adaptation of Afghan War Memoir Arrives on
DVD
On June 28, 2005, a team of Navy
SEALs based in Afghanistan
were issued orders in accordance with Operation Red Wings to locate and
terminate a Taliban leader whose militia had been targeting coalition troops in
the Kush Mountains
of Kunar Province. The four were then dropped by
helicopter line into rugged terrain outside the tiny village suspected of
harboring Al-Qaida sympathizers.
Soon, the soldiers crossed paths
with several shepherds and, against their better judgment, allowed the
seemingly innocuous civilians to continue on their way in accordance with the U.S.
military’s rules of engagement. Unfortunately, about an hour later, the SEALs
found themselves ambushed by over a hundred Taliban fighters who had apparently
been tipped off as to their whereabouts.
The ensuing, epic battle is the
subject of Lone Survivor, a gruesome war flick based on Marcus Luttrell’s (Mark
Wahlberg) memoir of the high attrition-rate, harrowing ordeal. Adapted and
directed by Peter Berg (Battleship), the picture was nominated for Academy
Awards in the Best Sound and Best Sound Mixing categories.
Given this movie’s spoiler of a title,
there isn’t any suspense about how the disastrous misadventure is going to end.
Consequently, the viewing experience amounts to little more than squirming in
your seat while watching members of Luttrell’s unit perish, as well as over a
dozen of the reinforcements sent to try to rescue them.
A practically-pornographic tribute
to fearless, fallen heroes strictly for patriots with a strong stomach for
gratuitous violence, however accurate.
Good (2 stars)
Rated
R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity
Running
time: 122 minutes
Distributor:
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Blu-ray/DVD
Combo Pack Extras: Will of the Warrior; Recreating the Firefight; Learning the
Basics; The Pashtun Code of Life; Bringing the Story to Light; and The Fallen
Heroes of Operation Red Wings.
To
see a trailer for Lone Survivor, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cPJ1ifjBDs
No comments:
Post a Comment